hunky dory
/ˌhʌŋkiˈdɔːɹi/
"hunky-dory" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“hunky dory” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 10
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Satisfactory, fine.
Corpus desk
Index EN-hunky-dory · hunky dory · English
hunky dory · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-MEGA 10 letters
- VOW-4 4 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "H" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | hunky dory |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /ˌhʌŋkiˈdɔːɹi/ |
| Letters | 10 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “hunky dory” in English
Rare enough to double-check
hunky dory is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anadjective, transcribed /ˌhʌŋkiˈdɔːɹi/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Satisfactory, fine.".
hunky dory has no tracked misspelling variants, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.
Etymologically, the entry records: American English, 1860s. From hunky (“in good condition”, “safe and sound”) + dory (origin and meaning unknown). The correct English form is hunky dory, spelled H-U-N-K-Y- -D-O-R-Y.
Definition
- 1Satisfactory, fine.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how hunky dory appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
Now that I’ve found my missing book, everything’s hunky-dory again.
It was no easy job, I can tell you. We worked like beavers to get the cave the way we wanted it; but when it was done, it was what you may call hunky-dory.
Etymology
American English, 1860s. From hunky (“in good condition”, “safe and sound”) + dory (origin and meaning unknown).
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.